Loki With a Chance of Family
by Whyler S
Summary: Somehow, Loki's children have been de-aged. He is faced with the choice - find a way to restore them or seize the opportunity and give Jormangund, Hela, and Fenrir the childhood they deserve. A collection of oneshots in chronological order. Lots of Mythology, but explanations inside for those unfamiliar with Norse Myths.
1. Chapter 1

**Please read the A/N first.**

A/N: So this is a collection of really short oneshots set in the same verse that I'll be posting in chronological order. The problem is that I have no beginning written for this. The short introduction in the summary is it. I've decided to keep the origin of the kids' de-aging a mystery for now, but I intend to revisit it later on. I know I'm a terrible person for purposely confusing people like this, but I'll make up for it! See bottom A/N marked with ***** for details.

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Midgard was one of the last places he wanted to stay, but Loki was committed to threatening the realm on a regular basis by then. He would've preferred nearly anywhere else, but all the other realms were ruled out, and he couldn't exactly leave his children in one realm while he teleported to Midgard to bother the Avengers. Asgard and its affiliated realms were out for obvious reasons, the Jotnar would likely kill him on the spot, and Niflheim and Muspellheim were no places for young children. The only logical decision was to stay put on Midgard. He even decided to move to New York, the city where the Avengers live, to add to his glee and to save him time in case there was ever an emergency.

Being a sorcerer, it was a simple matter for him to set up the living situation. His new landlord felt compelled to inform him of all the necessities of Midgardian child-rearing and his previous experiences allowed him to spell one of the strange currency vending machines to unload all its paper wealth into his pocket-realm. A nice, three-bedroom, furnished apartment became his own and his new landlord left with a portion of the paper currency. The rest was to be used for shopping and other needs.

Besides things like clothes and books and other Midgardian entertainment, his children would require an unheard of amount of documentation, it seemed. Loki settled it all by compelling a librarian to explain to him all the different kinds of paperwork he would be required to have and then spelling his children into the system through one of the strange computer-machines. After seeing an example of the forms he was supposed to own he conjured his own copies, all with the correct names and information on the paper. He chose, smirking all the while, the surname _Blake_ for his children and himself, after the alias Thor used during his banishment. His new name was Lukas, and his children were newly dubbed Helena, Fenn, and Mandel. Jormangund's name was a bit of a stretch but Loki was too unfamiliar with Midgard to attempt something resembling his eldest son's name.

When Hela and the two boys began to get a bit restless and ran about the library (Loki carefully enchanted them so that they would stay in Aesir shape, but his children were difficult and it manifested in Hela's single mahogany iris, Fenrir's fur-hair, and Jormangund's fangs) the dazed librarian mentioned something about a babysitter. And so, Loki found out about the numerous young women who apparently earned money by watching the children of other people. This appealed to him greatly, mostly because Fenrir was attempting to tie his shoelaces together and Hela was standing on Jormangund's shoulders to add the finishing touch to their book tower.

He found the number for Shannon pinned to the strangely-soft wooden board in the entryway of the library that was also littered with other papers. A short transaction of fees later and he left the young woman and his children at the apartment and wandered off to do some thinking.

He had plans for Midgard and his brother, and every intention of following through with them. He also had three children, now, and a second chance away from the Allfather that he wasn't going to throw away. These two things might be able to coexist but it wasn't going to be easy. He was not even a day into attempting this business of being a parent and already he was exhausted, his funds were running a little low, and he had yet to enroll his children in what these Midgardians called _school_.

When Loki returned from his visits to the local kindergarten, preschool, grocery store, and Avengers Tower (switching the salt and sugar before Stark's marvelous Jarvis-computer-voice-intelligence-thing could detect his presence was a bit of stress relief), it was to see Fenrir and Hela - no, Helena and Fenn - asleep on the couch while Shannon and Jorm... Mandel scribbled with a rainbow of pencils.

"Welcome back, Mr. Blake," said Shannon. "Do you need help getting the little ones into bed?"

"No, thank you, Miss Shannon," he told the Midgardian girl he couldn't bring himself to hate at that moment. He handed her the agreed-upon amount of currency as payment and was surprised when she didn't leave immediately, instead helping Mandel finish his picture and cleaning up the multi-colored pencils before saying her good-byes.

He found himself debating if it was so bad that he was incapable of hating just one Midgardian out of the billions that populated the planet.

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A/N: (In case you were wondering, JARVIS didn't tell anyone about Loki's trick because no one asked. Thor, Clint, and Bruce are the only ones who take suger with their coffee/tea and their morning cup of caffeine was ruined. Clint sulked, Thor guzzled down three cups of joe anyway, and Bruce was very close to Hulking out until Natasha set the jar of honey down in front of him. Tony was openly amused at their predicament and smug with his mug of black coffee, and though he would never admit it, so was Steve.)

**This is entirely unbetaed, so if you want to leave a review telling me of any mistakes you catch, I'll love you forever.**

***** To make up for my aforementioned awfulness, and since it will actually work with this collection of short fics, I'm taking requests. You might want to wait until after the second chapter is posted just to get a feel for the 'verse, but after that just drop me a review or a PM with a scene or something you'd like to see. If you can try and limit them to gen requests, I'd appreciate it. I didn't plan for any pairings so yeah, just gen, I guess. Sorry!

Hope you enjoyed, tune in next time for the _First Day of School!_


	2. Chapter 2

A/N: **You should probably read this.** I can't believe I forgot to mention this but, um, there's Norse Mythology here. For those of you familiar with it, you can see I've obviously adapted it for my own use (read: completely abused it with little to no regret) but for those unfamiliar, here's a quick run over Loki and his kiddies. Bottom A/N addresses some other mythology stuff.

Loki and this giantess named Angrboda had three kids. There is some debate over whether it was Loki or Angrboda who bore the children or if they even had a relationship and it wasn't just Angrboda's heart that impregnated Loki. See bottom A/N for more.

Hela/Hel is half skeleton/rotting corpse. Whether this is like a Two-Face (DC comics, ya'll) type of thing or just the bottom half of her has been lost to the ages. Fenrir/Fenris is a giant wolf. Jormangundr/Jormangund is a giant snake. All three were fated to play some part in Ragnarok, so they were banished from Asgard. Hela became Queen of Helheim, the realm of the dead, which may be located in or near Niflheim. Fenrir was bound with a thread named Gleipnir (see bottom A/N for more) and I'm not exactly sure where he was sent. Jormangund was sent to Midgard where we have enough oceans for him to be comfy in, because he's really just that huge, and his coils wrap around the planet.

During Ragnarok, Fenrir kills Odin and Jormangund kills Thor. They also both die. (more at bottom A/N) I don't think there's much mention of the role Hela plays in Ragnarok.

Obviously I'm not sticking to mythology, here, but a little background information never hurt anyone.

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After struggling over what the Midgardians called the "weekend"over his children's names, Loki decided that they would be known henceforth as Hela, Fenn, and Manny. Settling on the nicknames just in time for the first day of school, Loki woke with the rising of the sun and walked through their apartment to the fridge.

Manny and Fenn, of course, made things difficult by retaining the culinary tastes of their preferred shape-shifts. Fortunately, he'd made the discovery of sushi, and Manny's fish-only-diet was solved. Fenn was a bit easier and as long as Loki put some form of red meat in the meal, Fenn would eat it. Unfortunately, this often meant making three different things for meals, such as the breakfast he prepared. He cooked a slice each of salmon and ham, then dug around in the pantry for the canned kale. Fenn wasn't as picky as Manny and would eat the cantaloupe Loki was cutting up and separating into three portions, the larger two to be topped with yogurt and serve as breakfast for Hela and himself.

Even with the Midgardian stove and the other cooking utensils, Loki couldn't help but be reminded of his adventures with Thor. Of himself, Thor, the Warriors Three, and Lady Sif, only Loki ever bothered to watch how his meals were prepared. After their first hunting trip, where _someone_ forgot to gut the boar and burnt the underside, Loki took it upon himself to begin learning how to cook, mostly through trial and error. His first few attempts were only marginally better than Thor's, but after he discovered his magical affinity for fire and learned how to control the flames of a campfire, cooking came to him with ease. His companions did always seem thankful to have him along after a hunt. How strange to think of their appreciation for his talents! While they were hungry, at least, Loki didn't face the derision and scorn his use of magic usually garnered.

It was with a frown at his continually maudlin thoughts that Loki recalled the way a certain nobleman Lady Sif once invited scoffed at Loki's mastership over a maidservant's task, even as he crammed a second serving in his mouth. Perhaps that nobleman was the exception, but Loki knew he was the anomaly in Odin's court, and that his ability to prepare a meal without burning it to ash only further served to alienate himself from the Asgardians. Save Volstagg, perhaps.

On Midgard, to Loki's shock, culinary artists varied from the poor to affluent and boasted many men among their numbers.

Even after a weekend of experience with the stove, it took much longer for Loki to prepare the food than he thought it would. He decided as he finished and went to wake up his children that the lunch he would pack for them would have to be picked up on the way to the school. He simply didn't have time to make sushi or anything else that Manny would deign to eat and the deli down the street made rather good roast beef sandwiches, anyway, that Fenn and Hela liked.

"Boys, it's time to wake up," said Loki, opening the door to Fenn and Manny's bedroom. The two had a bunkbed and a widow that overlooked the street. The remains of a puzzle were scattered on the floor and Loki delicately stepped over the pieces as he made his way to the bed. "Manny, Fenn: wake up."

"Dun wanna..." moaned Fenn, rolling over. Manny grabbed his pillow and shoved it over his face with a sigh.

Loki smiled fondly and warned, "If you are not both out of bed by the time I return, I'm making your blankets disappear and I'll float you to the kitchen table myself."

Hela was easier to wake up. At the mere mention of school she jumped right out of bed and ran to her dresser, then to the bathroom. Loki chuckled and walked back to the boys room, where he snapped his fingers and sent the blankets to his pocket-realm. Fenn and Manny joined the already-dressed Hela at the table soon after, floating down gently into their seats.

"Why are you already dressed?" Fenn grumbled. He rubbed at his eyes sleepily.

Hela stuck her nose up in the air, rolled her green and red eyes, and ignored him in favor of her fruit and yogurt.

After breakfast, Loki cleared the table and washed the dishes while sending his kids off to finish getting ready. Hela appeared holding two hair elastics and a brush and coaxed Loki into braiding her hair the way Shannon had on Sunday. Loki managed something that half-way resembled Shannon's fine handiwork by the time Fenn came running out to have him help tie the laces on his tiny shoes, which were tangled up in knots that Loki eventually spelled them to untangle. Manny brought out all the backpacks for Loki's inspection, and after he made sure that there was nothing missing, Loki distributed the backpacks to his children and stepped back to get a good look at them.

Fenn was dressed in jeans and a long-sleeve blue shirt, his hair messy, and still blinking sleepily. Manny and Hela (who he decided to declare twins, as they were rather close in age and would appear to Midgardians as if they were born in the same year) were also wearing jeans and carried identical black backpacks. Hela was so slightly built, though, and the backpack so large, she almost looked as if she might tip over.

"We'll have to get you a new one," murmured Loki, quietly. Louder, he said, "Alright, let's go. We'll pick up your lunch on the way over. No running! Fenn, take my hand."

The walk to the school wasn't long, but Fenn complained until Loki gave in and lifted him up. They eventually began to fall among other parents and children walking to school and Loki was pleased to notice that his children blended in just fine with the Midgardians. That is to say, as well as they possibly could.

Manny's fangs weren't long or too noticeable, but he was quiet and the other children who looked to be his purported age were rather loud and energetic. They were also much more healthy-looking than either of his children, especially Hela, who was nearly skeletal in appearance. Fenris still retained the soft look of those just outgrowing infancy and no one would notice the patch of fur masquerading as his hair unless they were to pet him. He alone was beyond obvious suspicion, nearly falling asleep on his shoulder much as younger children around them were doing.

Loki supposed he was just lucky they were so young and not overly attached to Asgardian style of clothing. He would hate to see what kind of suspicion a cape or miniature breastplate would draw.

They were all greeted by Miss Walters and Mrs. MacLeigh at the Kindergarten and by Mr. Young and Miss Espinosa at the Preschool. All but MacLeigh were young, but they appeared capable. Walters was the youngest, a redhead with a bright smile. MacLeigh reminded Loki so much of Frigga he found himself unable to look her in the eye. Espinosa was a soft, warm woman with an indulgent look to her big brown eyes. Young, for all his diminuitive stature, gave the impression of an educated and firm man. Loki introduced his children, answered the teacher's questions, and hovered until he was finally shooed away. Typically, his children tore off to the schools' joint "playground", following the masses of Midgardian offspring. They swung on small seats suspended from chains and climbed metal structures of all different shapes while Loki watched in fascinated horror.

"First time sending your children off?" asked one of the many mothers.

"Yes," said Loki, too distracted by Hela's discovery of the largest and shabbiest-looking metal tower to properly sneer at the mortal's impudence.

"It gets better," she assured him, leaning over to pick up a plastic basket where he saw an infant strapped inside. "They'll call you if your kids need you, don't worry. The hard part is leaving them there."

Loki waited until she left before hiding behind a tree so he could turn himself invisible and then spent the next half hour making sure his children didn't kill themselves on the "monkey bars" or "slides".

They didn't, but Loki personally felt there were more close calls than his heart could take without failing.

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A/N: Alright, before I get into the mythology, I just want to thank my reviewers and those who favorited and followed my story. I also need to apologize for such a late update when I planned to post this chapter so much sooner. My plans were disrupted by family matters and my presence was called for a long way from my home; I can't promise this won't happen again, unfortunately.

Oh, and if you're requesting something, feel free to suggest any Avengers interludes you want. Just keep in mind that I'm keeping the pairings pretty much canon (Tony/Pepper, implied Clint/Natasha, Jane/Thor, past Steve/Peggy, etc...) and that it might be a while before I can post it due to my decision to post chronologically.

Mythology rant time! Alright, scientifically speaking, men don't get pregnant, eating a heart does not a baby make, and one Jotun plus another Jotun doesn't equal snakes or wolves. I don't accept magic as a fix-all, sorry, so that leaves other options. I guess my headcanon (is that the right term?) is that Angrboda gave birth to Loki's children. I'm not getting into the impossibility of the whole half-cooked heart cannibalism resulting in Mpreg. Just no. I think it's pretty clear where the issue with wolf and snake children comes in. Thankfully, the Thor movie handed out a solution to that.

As an infant, Loki's Jotun appearance is replaced by Aesir, and I think? the movie left it open as to whether it was Odin or Loki who caused the change. Now, Loki is known to be a shapeshifter, who's to say shapeshifters don't choose a form relatively early in life that they prefer to stay in, regardless of original appearance. For Loki, that would be his Aesir appearance, but for his kids? Wolf, snake, and either half-skeleton or half-blue depending on my reasoning at the moment. And the problem is solved!

**Mythology Index:**

Gleipnir - a thread crafted by dwarves of many impossible things. Seriously, the ingredients list reads like a poem. The Aesir trick Fenrir into letting himself be bound, but pay for that by the sacrifice of Tyr's hand. Look it up (especially the ingredients list)! Wikipedia provides good info on the myth, and everyone should know the story of Tyr if only because one of the weekdays is named after him.

Ragnarok - end of the world. Seriously, look this up if you haven't already, because I'm not covering everything. Alright, so Loki and Heimdall kill each other, as do Thor and Jormangund. Fenrir is killed by one of Odin's sons named Vidarr. This is hard to explain because more knowledge of Norse Mythology is needed to fully understand all the events that occur during Ragnarok.

Also, in case no one knew, in Norse Mythology Loki is Odin's blood-brother.

_(Good Grief, my A/Ns are longer than the fic itself!)_


	3. Chapter 3

A/N: This chapter is basically set-up for other chapters.

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"I made a new friend today, Daddy. Her name is Madison. She said her cousins are twins but they don't look like each other, either. Their names are Ethan and Emma and they're going to be at Madison's birthday party that she said I was invited to. Can I go? Jake's going to be there and you know he was the only one that can say 'Hela' right. Everybody else calls me Helen," rambled Hela, waving some kind of brightly-colored piece of paper in his face.

"Don't let her go, Dad! If she goes then Madison will want me to come too and she's best friends with Jazmyn and Jazmyn keeps trying to hold my hand," announced Manny, looking for all the world as if holding hands with this _Jazmyn_ was the worst possible fate. Loki's lips did not twitch in the slightest.

"Jazmyn's pretty, Manny," said Fenn. He didn't bother to look up from the picture book he was flipping through, some illustrated poem by a _Doctor Suess_.

Manny gaped, eyes practically bulging out of his head. "No she isn't!" he yelled, surprising Loki. Manny hardly ever yelled, and if he did, it was normally to warn Fenn away from the knives he kept trying to steal out of the utensils drawer.

Hela stomped her foot, glaring at Manny, and declared, "Yes she is! You just like Shannon but you shouldn't be mean to Jazmyn! She always lets everyone borrow her crayon sharpener and she never pushes or cuts in line. She's nicer than you, Manny!" Loki was able to snatch the brightly-colored paper away from her while she was distracted and he quickly scanned the text, learning it was in fact a party invitation for all his children. He did doubt that Fenn would want to go, though, as it appeared to involve significantly more princesses than he thought Fenn would want to deal with. Manny already made his feelings on the matter clear.

"I do _not_ like Shannon!" protested Manny, face turning red. Loki raised an eyebrow and wondered at his usually calm son's reaction.

"It's 'kay, Manny," Fenn said consolingly. "Shannon's pretty, too."

At Manny's despairing, bright red face, Loki was unable to hold back his laughter any further. "Oh, the politics of kindergarten," he said, grinning.

"What's politics?" asked Hela.

"A headache you'll learn about when you're older," said Loki. "For now, why don't we go out and get some Italian ice," which was the only food all three of the children liked, "and find Miss Madison a present for her birthday. We can think up an excuse for Manny... maybe he'll want to go to the aquarium with me and Fenn, unless they would both like to attend the 'princess tea party'?"

Manny and Fenn, as it turned out, wanted to go to the aquarium very badly. All three children satisfied, he bundled them up in their coats and grabbed his own long coat and scarf. They walked to the tiny mall and ate the Italian ice (which not many people seemed to want in the fall weather but their collected Jotun nature made even their coats unnecessary even while shifted to Aesir forms) while they shopped, ultimately deciding on a unicorn stuffed animal and two books of fairytales with beautiful illustrations for Madison and a new pirate storybook for themselves. Loki paid for the items, noticed his funds were dwindling, decided to rob a bank or something the next day while the kids were at school, and successfully left the mall without passing the toy or pet store and thus earning him an extra hour in the establishment.

Someone who would forever have Loki's thanks had combined a Long John Silver's and a Taco Bell. He ordered a burrito for Fenn, chalupas for Hela and himself, and Manny insisted on getting a fish taco with his shrimp. The kids joined together to overwhelm Loki with their pleading to read out of the pirate storybook and he finally acquiesced, setting aside his half-eaten chalupa (surprisingly delicious) and sliding the book out of the bag. He settled on the story of Grace O'Malley and his children fell quiet, eating quietly as he told the story of the Irish pirate and Sea Queen of Connaught.

By the time he finished, he looked up to find that there were five new young faces staring back at him from around the table, mixed in with his own children.

"You have a very good story-telling voice," said a female voice. Loki turned and looked up at the smiling countenance of an older woman with serene grey eyes behind wire-framed glasses.

"Thank you," he said slowly. On Asgard, compliments for such things were rare. The worth of a story-teller was determined by how greatly he could describe and exaggerate the feats of the hero, who was normally the story-teller himself. Well, among the common folk things were different. Loki supposed a farmer would have little care for how a warrior slew a beast bigger than a building. In Odin's hall, though, the tales of bravery and great deeds were what passed for entertainment. Loki preferred anything from the long genealogies of Nidavellir to the poetry of Alfheim to the books of Midgard rather than to listen to the idle boasting of an Asgardian warrior.

She smiled again, this time showing teeth, and said, "No, thank you for entertaining my grandkids." To two children with wispy hair and owlish, grey eyes, she said, "It's time to go home. Anna, Chris: thank the nice man for reading the story."

"Thank you, Mister!" said the girl, beaming up a smile missing two teeth at him. He found himself smiling back, though less enthusiastically, and nodded in acceptance. Her younger brother chorused her a little more bashfully and then the entire family left. As if it were a signal, middle-aged women swooped in from other tables to collect their children.

One of them, a blonde with too-long bangs and a drooling baby on her hip, actually stayed behind to talk to him. "Have you ever worked at a library or something for story hour?" she asked, tiredly, adjusting her grip the baby as she motioned for her child - a boy with golden hair and a passing resemblance to what Thor looked like as a boy - to come to her side.

"No," he replied, perplexed at the meaning of _story hour_.

"You should look into it. You've got a talent for keeping the kids spellbound and I know from personal experience that the library can never have enough volunteers. Finding time's the only problem," she smiled ruefully at him, prodded her kid into expressing gratitude, and left Loki to mull over his thoughts and finish his cold chalupa.

Eventually giving up on the decidedly-much-less-delicious chalupa, Loki had the kids clean up their mess before they left the fast-food restaurant, all the while thinking over the woman's words. He didn't know what the _story hour_ would entail but he had plenty of time to spare - villainy didn't consume as much time as one would think and the Avengers were hardly worth hours of plotting - and he always enjoyed what time he spent in Asgard's library in his youth. By the time the group of four reached their apartment he decided that the matter needed some looking into.

* * *

A/N: Thank you for reading and a belated Merry Christmas! Sorry the chapter's short. I was going to make it longer but then things started getting a little too cracky...

**Want to leave a request?** Here are my guidelines. Keep the pairings canon (Pepperony, implied Clintasha, Jane/Thor [can we call them ThunderScience please? or Thoster? Thorne, maybe? Someone tell me their ship name!], obviously past Loki/Angerboda, etc...) and please try and keep things gen/bordering on gen. I don't really want to write romantic fluff, and I'm definitely not writing anything smutty. Be patient with me as I can't always find time to write. Keep in mind I'm posting chronologically and any Avengers/Loki's kids interaction will have to wait a while before I upload it. Avengers interludes are welcome and encouraged.

**Mythology Index:**

Aesir and Jotun - names for, uh, Asgardians and Frost Giants. I'm seriously face-palming at forgetting this. Okay, so I'm pretty sure female Asgardians get a different name but I'm sticking to Aesir for less confusion. Jotun means a Frost Giant while Jotnar means the Frost Giants. Somehow I manage to confuse the two a lot so they're probably improperly used half the time, but I'm not calling them Frost Giants when they live in _Jotun_heim.

Alfheim - realm where the Elves live. Svartalfaheim is where the Dark Elves or the Dwarves live, depending on how you choose to interpret it. I keep it to the dark elves and place the Dwarves on..

Nidavellir - where the Dwarves live, because I'm OCD and want to keep my Dark Elves and Dwarves separate.

_Next chapter: Loki solves the mystery of story hour, gets a job, and misses his weekly appointment with Avengers._


	4. Chapter 4

Within two weeks of volunteering at the local library on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Saturdays, he was offered a job. It wasn't just that he was an excellent storyteller - which he was, only Asgard called that Silvertongue and Liesmith - but also that his enthusiasm for the place was obvious to anyone who saw him. Surrounded by books, Loki felt at home.

The library on Asgard was different. It was a grand piece of architecture, home to thousands of musty tomes and ancient scrolls, with a table at the center, below a skylight, to rest a book on. In all his years there, Loki can count on one hand the number of Asgardians who visited the library half as regularly as he did, and there were certainly none who spent an entire week there. (The table was actually quite comfortable after sleeping on the ground on a trip to Alfheim, and what else were servants for if not bringing food and drink when their master was utterly absorbed in research?)The library was spelled so that librarians were unnecessary; once you were done with a book, it would float back to its proper place. The contents hadn't been updated since before the reign of Odin's father, Bor. It was a grand place but of little interest to any but a few scholars and Loki, and it was not a very welcoming place.

In contrast, the local library appeared to be made of cheap, but sturdy materials. It was no great architectural feat but someone at least made an effort and the building was neither plain nor an eyesore. The insides were a mess of hallways and rooms and not all of the rooms housed books. There was a big room for children's books, another for fiction, non-fiction, and reference books. Then there was another filled with DVDs, video cassettes, CDs, and video games. Two rooms were labeled "conference", another held boxy computers for member use, one appeared to be a kind of storage room, next to that were the cubicles for the librarians, the front room held the front desk and any library items for sale, and there was a break room at the very end of the hall. The entire basement was for arts and crafts or other programs the library offered on various days of the week. The books they had varied from those published hundreds of years ago to those only just released that year. The system they used to organize all these books immediately caught Loki's interest and he devoted two days to memorizing it. All in all, the library, teeming with others interested in books, felt more like home than anywhere else Loki had ever been.

"So, Mr. Blake, we'd really appreciate it if you accepted the offer," said Horatio Browne, the Head Librarian. He was a short, friendly man with silver hair and warm brown eyes. Everything about him projected his calm and amiable nature, from his smile to his sweater. "You've impressed us all, first and foremost Board Member Santiago." Loki remembered the woman and her child, who he heard was quite hateful of story hour until he came along. "We think you could make a difference here, Mr. Blake. Please consider our offer."

So Loki considered it. Robbing ATMs and banks would get old after a while and he might as well get paid for the time he was spending at the library. "I accept the offer, Mr. Browne. May I ask what other duties I will have as an aide?"

"About the same thing you've been doing, only with regular hours and pay, until you're comfortable enough to take on things like working at the front desk and know your way around the Dewey Decimal system. Are you sure you don't want to take a day or two to think about this, Mr. Blake? It's only a part-time position." Loki would say Browne's eyes were concerned behind the wire-framed glasses if he didn't know better. He hardly knew the man, and as friendly as Browne was, he wasn't close to Loki. Browne had no reason to be worried over Loki.

"I'm certain and I've already memorized the Dewey Decimal System. When do I begin?" he asked.

And Lukas the Librarian (as the children at story hour called him) was born. He added Friday to his days spent at the library and took it off the days that he was able to go about tormenting the Avengers and striking deals with Dr. Doom. Instead, he spent that day usually assisting whatever programs the library had. Within two weeks he was working the front desk like a pro and Horatio (as Browne asked Loki to call him) approached him about taking a few online courses in Library Science.

Hela, Manny, and Fenn took it all in stride, accompanying Loki to every story hour and then leaving with Shannon afterwards. Loki understood it wasn't often that an employer would put up with an employee bringing his children to work, no matter how short a time they were there. Horatio, though, was very understanding. The entire staff all seemed to sympathize with Loki - living the life of a single parent with three children to look over.

One woman in particular seemed to understand the difficulty of juggling a life and an unexpected child, and that was Board Member Santiago. Her first name was Cathy, but she appeared to have a distaste for it. Her daughter's name was Sara, and her presence in Santiago's life was a surprise to both of them. After losing a custody battle with her ex, he'd abandoned both his new partner and daughter, and the other woman hadn't wanted anything to do with Sara. Santiago completely accepted Sara into her life and received full custody, but she had a busy schedule. Loki could understand the guilt she felt for not being able to participate in her child's life more often.

The first chance he got at fatherhood didn't last long enough for him to see any of his children raised to adolescence. Part of it was his own fault - he couldn't deny it even at his most deluded - but the Allfather was also at fault. It was then that Loki first knew he never wanted to be King. Loki would never be able to banish his own grandchildren, however illegitimate they were and no matter if their blood was Aesir or Jotun, as Odin had after he heard the prophecy detailing the part they would play in Ragnarok. If he couldn't make difficult decisions, how could he be an effective king? It was this logic that led him to abandon any dreams he had of ruling Asgard. (That didn't mean he wasn't insulted when he realized Odin had no intention of crowning him King as long as Thor was around, regardless of the ruin Thor would bring Asgard.)

He hadn't thought about the Throne, or any throne, in a long time. The Chituari promised him Midgard, but he knew of Thanos and his tendency to destroy planets. If they bothered to leave him alive, he would be King of Dust-Floating-Around-in-Space. (Why was it that everyone assumed he would have no idea of life outside of Asgard? Thor didn't give the best impressions, but Loki thought the difference between them was rather obvious.) Still, the idea of getting the slightest bit of revenge on Odin and Thor was enough to lure Loki in, though he now looked back and regretted his actions. Clouded by dreams of revenge, he didn't think. While Midgard was an interesting place, he would hate to rule over it. His subjects would die so quickly and fall victim to every natural disaster that came along. Loki simply didn't have the patience to govern over such a populous and short-lived people that couldn't be left to rule themselves for a century or so while he went about his business. They would break into wars if he turned his back for a second! Midgard was a fine place to visit for a few decades, with a chaos that was both amusing and plentiful, but Loki wouldn't want to be King of it all. He would prefer to be the King of Space Dust.

Between the life free of villainy that was forming before his eyes, work, his classes, raising his three children, and the new-budding relationships he was forming with these strange and accepting Midgardians, Loki found himself struggling to fit in the Avengers. He set aside Thursday and firmly told himself he would spend that day creating chaos and wreaking havoc, and only leave the world untouched by mischief in the case of emergencies.

Librarian Benjamin catching a cold and being unable to make it to story hour apparently counted as an emergency. Loki agreed to Horatio's request and the phone call was over before he had time to realize what he'd done to his Thursday.

Deciding the Avengers could wait, Loki went to the library to prepare for preschoolers' story hour.

* * *

A/N: Thank you so much for reading and sorry it's short! I hope the bit I included about the Chituari makes up for that. Interpretations of Loki's motives during the Avengers movie are always interesting. I hope what I have written doesn't disappoint.

A big thank you to those who left reviews last chapter. I'm so excited to have requests now. I've already started writing them!

**Want to leave a request?** Here are my guidelines. Keep the pairings canon (Pepperony, implied Clintasha, Jane/Thor [still waiting for their ship name!] obviously past Loki/Angerboda, etc...) and please try and keep things gen/bordering on gen. I don't really want to write romantic fluff, and I'm definitely not writing anything smutty. Be patient with me as I can't always find time to write. Keep in mind I'm posting chronologically and any Avengers/Loki's kids interaction will have to wait a while before I upload it. Avengers interludes are welcome and encouraged.

**Mythology Index:**

Allfather, Silvertongue, and Liesmith - a way of referring to Odin and Loki poetically. Sort of like nicknames, but poetic. I believe these are called _kennings_. Allfather refers to Odin, Silvertongue and Liesmith to Loki. I don't think I need to explain why for Loki, but in Odin's case, he is called Allfather the way we might call Chaucer the Father of English Literature. Well, that's my interpretation of it.

_Next chapter: Hela, Manny, and Fen discover the Avengers!_


	5. Chapter 5

_A/N: Mention here of an OC from a previous chapter who will return. Anyone remember Shannon the babysitter?_

* * *

It was all Shannon's fault.

She introduced his innocent children to the Avengers, and they were immediately hooked. He supposed part of it was his own fault; he did use his magic around them so perhaps they wouldn't be so easily captivated by the mundane. No, it would take something like the _huge group of idiots that were the Avengers_ to gain his children's interest.

There was a surprisingly lack of new coverage of the Avengers; Loki suspected SHIELD was trying to limit as much information on the team as possible. Average citizens still managed to form a basic knowledge of the team. Stark helped in that, appearing on television almost weekly, often in his armor, and talking about the team. Loki even saw clips of his brother striding down the aisle at a grocery store, his cart full of junk food, with Mjolnir in his other hand and cape flowing behind him. The public knew enough about the Avengers for the team of superheros to become a sensation. There were little toys, story books, shirts - all featuring the team or even just a single member. Everyone had a favorite among the team, even the children.

For Midgard children, it was the norm. Shannon couldn't have known that his children weren't actually Midgardians, but it was still her fault. Who read book about superheroes to children? That was absurd! Now Loki faced listening to talks about the Avengers after a long day of work, stepping on miniature Hawkeyes and Captains, and trying to keep the reality of a life-size Mjolnir a secret. Now Loki finally understood why there was no _babysitters_ on Asgard.

Hela liked the Hulk, which seemed to surprise Sara (her new best friend, which couldn't really be helped, as Santiago was quickly becoming Loki's dearest... associate) but was perfectly understandable to Loki. Both Dr. Banner and Hela were brilliant people with a fragile-appearance, and a temper and great power beneath that. Of course, Hela couldn't possible know about that. Dr. Banner's status was not known to the general public. Hela must have been able to sense the story behind the monster, as perspicacious as his daughter was and the mystery of the Hulk's origins so openly flaunted by the media; on Asgard, such a beast would be contained immediately before the public could panic, and barring that, it would be publicly and gloriously defeated. The Hulk's general reputation as a monster would appeal to Hela, who was too young to remember much of her life in Asgard with clarity, but still carried that feeling of alienation.

Loki's former servant, Clint Barton, found a fan in Fenn. His logic for choosing the Archer as his favorite was that Hawkeye was always overlooked because he didn't have powers or wealth or fame, but yet he was still a part of the mighty Avengers. Loki caught that there was something else, something about Hawkeye's bravery that resonated with Fenn, who never backed down from a challenge while he was grown. (Ultimately, that led to his binding, but as that was of the past there was little use dwelling on the difference between courage and tactlessness.) Loki approved of this; he'd chosen Barton for his service on the merit of his spirit, after all. It was Fenn's additional argument ("Black Widow's pretty and she's Hawkeye's girl!") that he didn't agree with. Well, children were children, and Fenn was never known for his sound judgement, even as an adult. One day he would realize the woman was a shrew.

It was Manny's choice that was the true puzzle. His quiet, empathetic, intellectual son favored Iron Man over all the rest of the Avengers. Loki couldn't figure it out, and aside from gushing over the "cool-ness" of the Iron Man armor, Manny was quiet on the matter. Loki didn't want to admit it, but the truth was that Manny was the most difficult of his children to understand. As an adult, their relationship was all but disintegrated. Loki had no idea of what the adult Jormangund was like. For the sake of his sanity, he hoped Manny would never be anything like Tony Stark.

Christmas (a holiday sending those around him into a frenzy that not even the theft of Mjolnir produced) was fast approaching and Loki knew that his three children would be disappointed should no Avengers Merchandise be waiting under the tree. That was why he was carrying two bags of newly purchased items and pacing the roof of the Avengers tower, floating schoolbus of screaming children in the background, waiting for the Avengers to make an appearance.

And this was all really Shannon's fault. He'd never ask her to sit again if not for her amazing ability to coax Manny into drinking his milk and eating his veggies and whole-grains.

Iron Man was the first to appear, predictably. "Hey, Lokes, where were you last Thursday? I have to say, just because you missed our daily prank appointment, doesn't mean that hurting kids will make up for it," he said in his tinny voice. Loki rolled his eyes and waved his hand. The schoolbus dipped lower and screams rose higher and louder. "Whoa! Whoa, okay, Loki, I'm shutting up."

The mortal had to make his smart remarks. Was Stark capable of inspiring anything other than annoyance? How was he even allowed on a team? Loki was no stranger to leadership; he was a general during the Aesir-Vanir war, and he never would have allowed someone like Stark near his men without proper discipline. Midgard was so pitiful if they put their trust in the Avengers, a team of "superheroes" so lax as to allow Stark's antics. They were unbalanced, all of them, and he couldn't believe he was actually doing this, for Yggdrasil's sake.

"I require Dr. Banner and the Hawk," said Loki dully. He crouched down to let the bags rest on the ground and an arrow whizzed by where his head would have been a second earlier. "It seems Barton is already here. Come down from your nest; I want to talk to you."

"Do it, Clint," said a familiar voice. Loki turned to see the glowering face of Captain America, Black Widow and Dr. Banner right behind him.

He smiled and walked forward, saying, "Ah, Captain Rogers. Is my brother here? No? Ah, well, I have no need for him." Thankfully, none of the children seemed to particularly care for Thor. Loki would die before he would buy anyone a toy figurine of his not-brother. "If Dr. Banner, Stark, and Barton would please come forward, there's something I need them to do for me."

He heard the clunk of Iron Man landing on the roof. "We don't make deals with terrorists," said Stark.

Loki would beg to differ. With another wave of his hand, the schoolbus rose into the air, shrieks carrying over on the wind. The Avengers' faces grew furious.

"Calm down, Dr. Banner. As long as you do as I ask, the children will come to no harm," Loki said. Banner's eyes were a battle between their natural color and intense green. The man was obviously beating the monster, who was at the very least able to recognize that Loki was the one keeping the schoolbus in the air and smashing would not resolve the situation. How strange; Loki was not aware the beast was capable of reason. Perhaps Banner was not as monstrous as he once presumed...

"What do you want, Loki?" asked Barton, walking out of his hiding spot.

Loki grinned with the intent to intimidate, and gestured to the bags at his feet. "I require autographs. Stark, Barton, Dr. Banner: sign the objects with your picture or name on them. With your 'superhero code names' only, please."

"Uh... what?" Stark asked for the whole dumbstruck team. Loki's grin slipped into a frown and the schoolbus tipped forwards. "Sorry! Okay, you got a Sharpie?"

While they signed the merchandise, Loki carefully watched the others. They were following his orders, but Loki knew the Avengers well, and it wouldn't be long before they tried something.

"Your random ATM theft has stopped. Planning to sell this stuff on eBay?" asked Stark. There was a flatness to his tone, a coolness that told Loki he was trying to distract him.

Again.

He sighed theatrically (would they never learn how easily he could see through them?) and said, "I suppose my brother is here at last." As if on cue, the darkening clouds in the sky were lit up by a lightening bolt that also illuminated Thor and his armor as he flew speedily to the schoolbus.

Loki saw that the three Avengers in front of him were finished at last and waved his hand to collect the items back into the bags. He picked them up and turned around just in time to see Thor swoop right through the schoolbus and emerge on the other side, puzzled look on his face.

"You have _got_ to stop falling for that, Thor," Loki said gleefully and let the illusion fall. He teleported, Barton's arrow whizzing right over his head.

* * *

A/N: I'm not sure about this chapter... please tell me if you spot any mistakes.

Thank you for reading! I love reviews, whether they are feedback (of any kind, I can take some constructive criticism!) or requests or just someone saying "hi." :)

**Want to leave a request?** Here are my guidelines. Keep the pairings canon (Pepperony, implied Clintasha, Jane/Thor [still waiting for their ship name!] obviously past Loki/Angerboda, etc...) and please try and keep things gen/bordering on gen. I don't really want to write romantic fluff, and I'm definitely not writing anything smutty. Be patient with me as I can't always find time to write. Keep in mind I'm posting chronologically and any Avengers/Loki's kids interaction will have to wait a while before I upload it. Avengers interludes are welcome and encouraged.

There is no Mythology index this time. I don't think I made a single reference that needs to be explained. In the absence, let me share with you a comic **jeanette9a** was so kind to share with me. It's called _The Stolen Hammer_ by _savu0211_ on Deviantart. There are a few other comics and mythology-related artworks in the artist's gallery. The artist is fantastic and the comics are hilarious. Go check it out!

_Next chapter: (My first request filled! :D) Dr. Banner takes a walk in the park._

P.S.

To **Frequent Flier**, the Anon who left a review concerning the rating, and anyone else wondering about that: I've rated it T to allow freedom with those leaving the requests, also Tony Stark and canon-typical violence and Norse Mythology can be kind of weird (Loki is indeed a very busy person) and/or violent sometimes. For the most part, though, this fic is probably K+. Also, I sort of really, really love you for comparing my style to a Mary Poppins book. I've never read any before, but I still really appreciate the compliment. :)


	6. Chapter 6

_A/N: Yay, a fast update! This is the first request/prompt I've posted. This is for the anon reviewer named **Leoness**. I hope I've done this right!_

_Warning for splinters, in case that's a major ick, and little bit of blood. No detailed description though._

* * *

With a tired sigh, Bruce pushed his glasses back up and set down the newspaper. Face up, the bright colors of Tony's suit and the Other Guy's green skin emblazoned on the front page seemed to him like the coloring of a Danaus plexippus - a warning. Public opinion of the Other Guy was changing, and not always for the good. More questions were being asked by the press and even the local citizens. Not content to leave the Other Guy be as a raging monster who destroyed Harlem, people wanted to know the story behind him and his sudden turn for the good. He was being discussed on talk shows, debated in college classrooms, and speculated in the daily news.

Bruce didn't want any of this. Bruce just wanted to fade into the background and let the spotlight pass him over. Bruce didn't want to have to deal with the inevitable visit from General Ross and the myriad of tanks and attack helicopters he would likely bring with him.

His eyes adjusted to the sunlight and the park he was in slowly came back into focus. There were people jogging, cycling, and walking on the path in front of him. The warm weather, near eighty degrees in December, was a result of the last visit from Amora the Enchantress and the city's residents were taking advantage of the sunny day. Bruce thought he might join them in a second, once he got the turmoil he was in over the newspaper story in control.

They thought he was some creation of Tony Stark's.

Bruce's lips twitched and as he exhaled his spine popped. He released another sigh as he stretched, wishing the pressure of the Other Guy could slip away as easily as the tension in his back did with every snap and pop. He could practically hear Tony in his head demanding he add a "crackle" to that last thought; maybe he was spending too much time with the eccentric billionaire?

It really was no wonder that the newspaper was coming to such ridiculous conclusions. SHIELD was tight-lipped about everything from their budget to the name of their Director. Absolutely nothing was released to the press after the Chituari invasion, but there was a lot of cleaning up. So much was cleaned up and covered up that there were people living in the city who didn't believe there was ever an invasion! With such a secret government organization keeping a lid on anything pertaining to the Avengers, the press turned to Tony. Bruce would like to see Fury try and control his mouth. The only way to shut up Tony was to hand him a bottle of alcohol, and that would only last as long as it took Tony to chug the liquor down.

The end result of the press getting most of their information from Tony was the general populace believing the Other Guy to be one of Tony Stark's lab accidents. Of course Tony encouraged the rumors. Bruce wouldn't be surprised to hear that Tony was in fact the original source. The reputation of a mad scientist was just too appealing for Tony to resist, and it was left to Bruce and the Other Guy to suffer for it.

The presence lurking in the back of his mind chuckled lowly, and Bruce corrected himself. The Other Guy got as much entertainment from the whole situation as Tony did, leaving only Bruce to even _care_ in the slightest. What would General Ross think, he wondered, when he heard of Tony's connection to the beast that broke Harlem?

Was everyone around him a child? Running his hands through his hair did nothing to settle the clashing emotions withing himself. The Other Guy didn't appreciate Bruce's opinion of Tony's childishness one bit, or the insinuation that he himself was nothing but an overlarge and green toddler. Bruce just wanted everyone to take in what was at stake for once! Well, and a teeny, tiny part of himself was a little insulted at being thought of as a sentient lab accident.

Certainly not the green part, though. Bruce groaned and got up for that walk.

It was relaxing to stroll around the midst of such peace. The Other Guy was content and Bruce could feel his own negative emotions ebbing away like no meditation technique or breathing excercise could accomplish. There was something so relaxing about being around people out for a bit of fresh air, walking their dogs, and watching their children play in the great outdoors. This was what called to him all those years on the run. Bruce was an introverted, solitary man by nature, but he enjoyed the company of others - even if that company was just nodding to each other as you passed each other on the same path in a park.

The next branch in the path he took led him past the children's jungle gym area. No more than a few slides, a swingset, and a few metal climbing structures composed the only area of the park entirely devoted to children. There were numerous fields for sports and even a tennis court, but it was plain to see that the park was not specifically designed for children. The area he was passing almost seemed like an afterthought, with everything a little too close together and a single bench for any parents placed right next to the pitiful excuse for a sandbox.

There were two children climbing the jungle gyms and a woman sitting on that bench. She looked up as Bruce passed, quickly looked him up and down, and smiled before she went back to watching the two girls. Bruce did his best not to blush as he continued on his way with the Other Guy's laughter ringing through his head.

The wail of a child made him turn around. The small, pale girl who was sitting at the top of the jungle gym last he saw was on the ground, the other girl gaping at her in horror. The woman rose from her seat and dashed over.

Bruce almost continued on his way, except for he heard the unmistakable sound of a child sobbing.

When he kneeled down beside them, the woman looked up. Bruce could see the uncertainty in her eyes, along with the question of why was he there, and awkwardly extended his hand.

"Bruce Green. I'm a doctor," he said. Not exactly a lie, not really. He just wasn't a medical doctor. He was studying to be one before he switched majors. Maybe, someday, he would go back and earn a doctorate...

"I'm Santiago. This is my daughter's friend, Helena," she said.

"Do you mind if I take a look?" he asked, gesturing towards the girl, Helena. There was blood beginning to seep through the girl's jeans - the part of them that wasn't torn, at least.

"No, go ahead," she said. She stayed where she was, clearly intending to watch every move Bruce made. He couldn't help but give her an approving nod.

Overall, it didn't seem too bad. She was bleeding a lot, but the cut was a small one. The worst part was the dark pieces of wood Bruce thought he could see imbedded in the wound and the skin around it. Splinters, not too deep, but a good amount of them.

"She has a lot of splinters," he told the woman. "Helena, I'm Doctor Green. I know it hurts a lot and the blood is scary, but you're going to be fine. I promise."

"Okay," said Helena, looking up at him tearfully. Bruce was surprised to see the unsual heterochromia. One eye was a brilliant green, the other an almost red mahogany. While not the first time he'd seen heterochromia, the unique combination of colors made him pause.

"The best thing right now would be to clean up the wound, remove some of the larger splinters, and cover the wound before taking her to a more sterile enviroment," he told Santiago, overcoming his shock at Helena's eyes.

"Remove them with what?" asked Santiago, her daughter already running for her mother's purse. Santiago took it with a thankful smile and passed a bottle of unopened water to Bruce.

"I've got a small first aid kit in my pocket," he said, reaching for it. The plain cloth wallet (he never did learn the proper name for it) held a set of tweezers, scissors, a small amount of gauze, two packets of moist towlettes, and several bandaids. Even as a child, Bruce was the one in the neighborhood with the pocketfull of bandaids. He was always prepared for when one of his friends took a fall and skinned their elbow or their knee. No small share of the bandaids went to Bruce for use at home, either. He would have run out if he hadn't picked up on how easy it was to fake a cut finger and beg one off a librarian or other such adult with access to their own first aid supplies.

Santiago nodded and produced a lighter from her purse, handing it to him without a word. Bruce took it with a quiet "Thanks," and told her, "Go ahead and rinse the wound."

After he was done sanitizing first his hands with a towlette and then the tweezers with the fire, Bruce leaned over and looked carefully into Helena's eyes. "This could sting a little. I need you to stay very still, Helena. You've done a really good job so far of keeping still, and I need you to do just as good so I can finish quickly, okay?"

Helena held eye contact before giving him a brief nod. He couldn't help but think that she looked vaguely familiar, like a shadow of someone he'd once seen...

Santiago watched as he quickly pulled out the splinters with steady hands and laid out each piece on the towlette he'd used to clean his hands. She shuddered each time he drew out another wood splinter but never relaxed her firm hold on Helena's leg. Bruce was grateful she was there; Helena was as frightened as one could expect and he didn't doubt that without the familiar presence of her friend's mother, she would have long ago flinched. Bruce was just glad that there wasn't anymore splinters that looked as if they would bury themselves deeper if she bent her knee. He always hated the feeling of something foriegn digging into his skin and had to concede that was one benefit to a tough, green hide.

Something like smugness came from the back of his mind where the Other Guy dwelled.

"There, that's the last one. The other's can be taken care of later," Bruce said. "Thanks, Helena. You did great. Now we're just going to clean you up with this towlette and give you a bandaid, okay?"

"Towl-what?" she asked.

"A wipe, dear," said Santiago. Bruce heard the relief in her voice and smiled.

"Hela's gonna be okay, right?" asked the other girl, Santiago's daughter. Her resemblance to her mother was remarkable, but the soft, lilting sound as the girl spoke held no similarities to Santiago's strong, slightly gravelly voice.

"I'll be fine," Helena reassured her, doing much more to settle nerves than Bruce ever could.

"You've been one of my best patients," he told her when he was done cleaning her wound, careful not to add pressure except on the cut, where he made sure to remove all splinters. She watched as he layered two bandaids to properly cover up the cut.

"Thank you," she said, without a hint of shyness. Bruce grinned.

"Just don't forget to wash that everyday," he said.

Santiago ran a gentle hand through Helena's hair. "I'm sorry your playtime got cut short by this accident." Something in her face changed as she continued, "I will definitely be bringing up the matter of getting rid of this awful... _mulch_ to the NYC Parks Commissioner." To Bruce, she said, "Thank you so much for stopping to help, Doctor Green."

"Uh, it's no problem at all," he said.

Helena looked up at him and beamed. "Thank you, Doctor Green!"

"But don't let us keep you from your day," Santiago said. "Come on Sara, Hela. Lukas will get worried if we're late."

Bruce returned to his walk once again, leaving behind a Santiago bargaining with the determined-to-climb-more-jungle-gyms Helena. However his walk ended up, he couldn't deny the sense of tranquility he felt as he walked. Strangely he found he couldn't remember just what was on his mind before...

* * *

A/N: See, the splinters weren't so bad. Worse than the scraped knee originally requested, but I took a few liberties as Santiago is perfectly capable of dealing with minor abrasions.

I want to say how much I love all the reviews and favorites and follows this fic has been receiving! I never thought people would like this fic as much as they apparently do. I really want to hug you all but as this is the internet please accept my sentiment in lieu of real hugs.

**Want to leave a request?** Here are my guidelines. Keep the pairings canon (Pepperony, implied Clintasha, Jane/Thor, obviously past Loki/Angerboda, etc...) and please try and keep things gen/bordering on gen. I don't really want to write romantic fluff, and I'm definitely not writing anything smutty. Be patient with me as I can't always find time to write. Keep in mind I'm posting chronologically and any Avengers/Loki's kids interaction will have to wait a while before I upload it. Avengers interludes are welcome and encouraged.

There is no Norse Mythology Index. Instead, I present to you...

**Comic Index:**

Amora the Enchantress - stick around in the fandom long enough, you'll learn more about her than I can tell you here. She's an Asgardian (though she's actually not from Norse Mythology) sorceress who has a thing for Thor to the point of where it's creepy (as those who watch A:EMH will recall) and she's worked together with Loki, though they're not exactly friends (but they should be). She's also got a sister and a really cool henchman named "Scourge the Executioner" with this axe that's kind of like Mjolnir except better.

_Next chapter: I have no clue, I'm not done writing it yet. But I've posted a very cracky oneshot that is a result of PMs between **fan girl 666** and I. If you wish to read it, it's called Trophy and it's got an alien Abominable Snowman and Darcy and a nameless faceless SHIELD agent._


	7. Chapter 7

_A/N: Happy Valentine's Day! This is for **jeanette9a** who asked for hungover Tony catching a glimpse of Loki at the library._

* * *

His head was pounding.

The light in the room was too bright - though he could still barely see the words of the book in front of him - and it gave him a killer headache. Technically, the effects of last night's drinking contest with Thor were what gave him a headache, but he still glared at the light. At least he could draw consolation from the fact that Fury was likely suffering from an even worse headache. Last night's drinking contest with Thor did take place in a SHIELD facility, after all, and he'd upgraded his suit since Malibu. Thor couldn't even pick up Mjolnir while intoxicated (and Tony was not ever going to forget that he was only behind three tankards of Asgardian liquor to the guy who lowered the ocean's level) and he still managed to beat Tony at their desk-throwing competition.

The man who greeted him was older and friendly. He immediately earned Tony's distrust as he smiled at Tony as if he was pleased to have the tabloid favorite there for children's story hour. Horatio Browne was the type Pepper would be friends with, just to get on Tony's nerves - or so Tony purported. Browne didn't even remark on the alcohol Tony knew he reeked of, but offered him a piece of mint gum with a wink. Then, he pointed towards the children's section with the directions to find Amy, and walked down the hall. The clicking sounds made Tony look down, and sure enough, Browne was wearing cowboy boots. This was not the type of person Tony was used to.

Amy was at least someone who he could fit into a certain category of people. She happened to belong to the same category as Cap, actually. Granted, she looked like she was born around the same time, too. She frowned at him and scrunched up her nose at his smell, turning her already wrinkled face into a raisin, and muttered under her breath. Cap did that sometimes, when he was lost in thought. A book was shoved in Tony's hands and as the old lady lamented the absence of someone named "Lukas" she led him to a small clearing among the shelves and shelves of books.

There was a group of small children, all around Kindergarten age. Tony counted at least twenty. He wondered how many of them were regulars, and pinned the group actually talking to each other and not fidgeting in their seats as the only ones actually comfortable in the room, except for Amy and one or two of the parents present. There were about seven, two twins, and there were more girls than boys. Of the other thirteen or so, there was a distinct pink presence. Tony realized he could very well be holding a ballerina or princess book in his hands and quickly held up the book to check.

The Giving Tree.

Tony knew that book. Faint memories of Maria Stark and the daily bedtime stories (some days it was the only time he heard her voice) she insisted on reading to him filled his mind. Now Tony would be reading a book he'd heard from his mother long ago to a bunch of brats; funny how no matter how hard he tried to forget things like this kept dragging up the past, even without Fury's assistance.

"Children," said Amy with a smile that belied her tone. "Children, settle down. We're going to hear now from Mr. Stark - Iron Man - who is going to read _The Giving Tree_. Remember to keep your questions for after the book, and raise your hands. There will be stickers for good behaviour."

Tony nearly snorted with laughter at that remark. Such a bribe would have never worked on him as a child, as no one would deny the son of Howard Stark a sticker when all the other children were getting one. The world was still like that. His name carried more weight than Tony could manage. That was why he had Pepper, even if she teamed up with Cap and Fury and made him go to things like a volunteer story hour.

He heard whispers of Iron Man from the children and grinned. There was a seat in the circle quite a bit bigger than the rest, obviously meant for him, and yet some brat was sitting on it. Tony walked over and stared down at the kid, knowing full well that his reflective sunglasses hid his eyes.

"Outta my seat, Scamp," he said.

The kid looked like he was about to faint as he scuttled off towards an empty chair. Tony sat down and surveyed the group. Those he had pegged as regulars were clustered together and directly across from him, obviously choosing the seat with a view over close proximity to the famous Tony Stark. Tony approved; those were the best seats to see pictures when he flipped around the book, as he'd done once or twice before when Pepper made him do the same thing - although that was before the Iron Man suit, and Afghanistan. (Maybe life was settling down into something normal.)

The crowd of regulars stood out from the other children in other ways, now that he could see them all clearly. Most of the fidgeting children were dressed in clothes Tony knew no child would wear on a daily basis - their parents obviously dressed them up for Story Hour with Stark. There was one among the seven who was also dressed up, in a blindingly hot pink dress that was giving Tony great ideas for painting the War Machine armor when Rhodey brought it in for an upgrade. His favorite of the children was immediately the girl he spied wearing a Hulk shirt. She was one of the twins he spotted before, and was sitting next to her brother, who was grinning like a kid on Christmas.

The girl seemed to sense his gaze and looked at him. He raised his eyebrows at her heterochromia, but said nothing. Her hand popped up and waved eagerly, something he did at many a debriefing or meeting with SHIELD solely to get on Fury's nerves.

"Helena, I said no questions! Put your hand down. Mr. Stark, please feel free to begin reading," snapped Amy.

Tony held up his hand in a silencing gesture. "Just a sec, Amy." He addressed the little girl: "What's your question, Helena?"

"Why couldn't the Hulk come read to us instead?" she asked, scowling at him.

"Hela! Shut up!" hissed her brother. The girl on the other side of Helena sighed and put her face in her palm. "It's _Iron Man_, for crying out loud!"

"Nah, it's all good," said Tony. He couldn't hide his smirk from Amy, who glared. "Hulk's a little big for a library, don't you think? He's not very patient, either. Next time I'll see him, though, I'll talk to him about considering it, I promise."

Amy looked like she wanted to strangle him, but Helena gave him a dismissive nod and settled back into her little folding chair as if it were a throne and she a queen. Her brother gave her an exasperated look, mingled with envy. Tony chuckled and looked around to see similar looks on nearly all the young faces.

"Now, I know I don't like to wait, and since I already answered one question, how about we do this? You all get to ask me one question about anything before I read. We'll go in a circle, starting with you, Missy," he said, pointing at the girl next to Helena, who seemed completely disinterested and blinked in surprise when he selected her.

"Ah... what's your favorite color?" she asked. "And why?"

"That's technically two questions, but what the hell. My favorite color's red - like fire truck or hot rod red, because it's obviously the best color ever," Tony said.

There was a collective gasp from the adult crowd at his profanity and a few giggles from the brats.

"Iron Man said 'hell', Mommy," said one little boy.

"I know, honey, I heard," she replied, scowling at Tony.

He just sighed and ran a hand through his hair, messing it up even more than it was before. There was no escape no matter how hard he wished, and the next kid blurted out his question faster than Natasha could take down a thug.

Somehow he made it through the round of questions and cracked open the book. First he read the page to himself, then he flipped the book so the kids could see the picture and recited what he read on the page. By the time he was near the end, he remembered how the book ended and frowned. As he closed the book, he was stunned by the amount of hands waving around in the air. He spotted Helena's twin (one of the few not jumping out of his seat) with a longsuffering expression on his face and pointed to him, nodding when the boy pointed towards himself. Though Tony could see the spark of curiosity in his eyes, the kid had only asked him when he built his first robot, rather than the typical Iron Man-related stuff Tony got from the other brats. The boy had twice the respect of his twin, and actually reminded Tony of the family butler who was long dead, his legacy living on in Tony's favorite AI. Jarvis as a kid, before dealing with the Stark family drove him to snark. So Tony picked the kid with the eyes too insightful, too clever, too old.

"What do you think the story means?"

Tony scoffed. "The guy was selfish, and the tree wasn't smart enough to say no," he said, his reply spilling out without thought.

It wasn't the disapproving parents, the practically seething Amy, or the gasps of the kids that made Tony regret his answer. It was the disappointment on a skinny kid's face whose name he didn't even know, who reminded him of Jarvis, who quietly looked away and said nothing.

"Sorry," Tony apologized. He meant it, and maybe the shock of that was what kept the room silent. "Sorry... I've had a long week. The story's not really about that - of course not. It's a kid's book." He took a deep breath and thought. He didn't like the book. The characters, the tree and the kid that grew into an old man, were too easy to relate to for his comfort. Of course he felt like the kid that grew into the old man, taking too much from the people around him and one day he would leave them nothing but stumps, but he didn't know if they would stick around for that. Anyone could guess that. But Tony was just as often the tree. Everyone always wanted more from him, from his parents to the public to his team.

"Maybe it's about selfishness or selflessness or even friendship, but in the end, the old man and the tree are together, and that's what's important," he said.

He didn't even notice how anyone else reacted to his words. The boy smiled, shy and grateful, and that was enough.

Tony answered a few more questions, and left with Amy practically herding him out of the room. He shook each child's hand before he left and now he had some sort of sticky residue on his hands. He tried to wipe it on the leg of his pants, but it wasn't coming off. He had no idea where the restroom was, but he was passing the staff room and through the open door he could see a sink. He walked in, saw no one was inside, and headed for the sink. The stickiness melted off right away but there was an almost neon stain on his hand that refused to fade. He scrubbed at it roughly, and didn't hear the sound of someone coming in until the sudden scent of coffee alerted him to another's presence.

"Do you want me to pour you a cup while I'm here?" asked the other person. The accent was strange, vaguely British.

Tony turned around and saw Loki, who raised his eyebrows in surprise, and turned back around when the water suddenly grew freezing. Then he realized - Loki! He spun around, only to see a man who resembled the supervillain but was clearly not Loki staring at him. The hair was the same, but a little shorter, and this guy had a different nose and chin and was just all wrong. No, it wasn't Loki, just some poor man who bore a passing resemblance that was enough to trick Tony's hungover and emotionally-wrung-out mind. He wished he could say he regretted last night's drinking if it was going to lead to visions of Loki, but he didn't, even if hallucination was a huge sign of one glass - or tankard, in this case - too many.

"Uh... Stark?" the man asked.

"Right. Sorry, I'm Tony Stark. And you knew that, but I'd love coffee, if it's okay to give it to non-staff mem-... who am I kidding? I'm Tony Stark, and I volunteered for Story Hour, and I want coffee," babbled Tony, holding his hand out for the cup the man held.

"I'm Lukas," said the man, slipping his hand into Tony's and shaking it. Tony frowned at the hand he was holding rather than the hot cup of joe that he wanted. "I normally read for Story Hour... they said they had someone else doing it this week, but they didn't say it was Tony Stark." He sounded disapproving. Tony shrugged, and grabbed the cup of coffee out of the man's grasp. He was cold as a corpse and Tony wanted to hold the coffee immediately to chase away the chill left behind by the handshake.

"Yeah, the old woman, Amy, mentioned you. Well, I won't be coming back, so it's all yours!' said Tony, laughing as he left the room. He heard the awkward, belated laughter of Lukas behind him and rolled his eyes. He couldn't wait to leave, even if it meant meeting back up with the rest of the team to discuss the punishment disguised as a good publicity opportunity. Even for little, stupid things like this, Cap insisted on a full-team debriefing.

He thought briefly about mentioning his Loki hallucinations, but rejected the idea. There was no way he would escape unscathed. He would either be hauled off for psych evaluation, or the team would somehow decide that Loki was for some reason lurking around libraries and start harassing Lukas who would probably file a lawsuit and Tony would still face a psych evaluation when everyone was done. It just wasn't worth it.

That night he dreamed about his parents and old Jarvis and a tree that never stopped giving.

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A/N: **HEY! **Got you attention? I just want to say how much I love all of you readers. No, seriously, this update is my Valentine to you all. What better way to say I appreciate you than leave you with some Tony Stark angst? (I'm really sorry by the way that there isn't a lot of Loki I tried I honestly did but Tony wouldn't relinquish the spotlight...)

**Want to leave a request?** Here are my guidelines. Keep the pairings canon (Pepperony, implied Clintasha, Jane/Thor, obviously past Loki/Angerboda, etc...) and please try and keep things gen/bordering on gen. I don't really want to write romantic fluff, and I'm definitely not writing anything smutty. Be patient with me as I can't always find time to write. Keep in mind I'm posting chronologically and any Avengers/Loki's kids interaction will have to wait a while before I upload it. Avengers interludes are welcome and encouraged.

In the absence of any kind of index (they aren't really indexes but I will call them what I want) I want to thank all the reviewers, especially those who message me after I reply to reviews. Every review and every PM inspires me a little more. I normally get writers block very hard but all your thoughts and ideas, generously shared with me, motivate me to get back to writing and to update. Thank you so much!

_Next chapter: to continue with the Avengers-Unknowingly-Meet-Loki's-Kids theme I have, next chapter will be Clint's POV..._


	8. Chapter 8

_A/N: Alright. First off, _**_fan girl 666_**_, I'm sorry I wasn't able to squeeze in more of your request but thank you for your patience and I promise to do better next time. And everyone owes the speedy update to **jeanette9a** who is nice enough to help me whenever I have Norse Mythology questions, and who found the name I am using for the inhabitants of Muspellheim. I seriously wouldn't have posted until I could figure that out, and it's only mentioned once, so that should give you an idea of what kind of absurdity you're dealing with here._

_Also sometimes I foreshadow. I'll be really impressed if anyone manages to connect past events to this chapter, but next chapter will probably explain it clearly. (I don't have anyone reading this to ensure coherence before I post so honestly if something doesn't make sense just ask and I will explain everything.)_

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"This footage is the clearest video we have yet seen of the supervillain 'Loki' who we know to be in some way responsible for the alien attack two years ago, and a host of other crimes since. Not much is known about Loki, except that he is in some way connected to Avengers' member 'Thor', and is not human. This villain has been nothing but a harassment for New York, so why would he be seen fighting off the most recent alien attack?"

Fury pressed pause on the recording. The woman talking to the camera was one Clint recognized from the evening news, though she had a spark in her eyes - genuine interest in what she was reporting shone through. Clint could hardly blame her. He was there, he saw Loki - he was actually the sole witness to Loki's actions that day.

The two TV screens behind her showed Loki. One was of him fighting off one of the flaming aliens, another a close up of his face. The second was grainy and blurred - there was not much to be seen but a snarl. Clint saw that expression in person. Loki's eyes were bright and furious, his lips baring teeth that suddenly seemed feral, his posture alert and angry. The news cameras couldn't capture the harsh features of Loki and portray the terrifying raise of the head, the freezing gaze and flash of white before brows lowered and shadows concealed all but the promise of death in his look, the teeth trying to escape from his mouth and tear apart all in his way. The sensation of being frozen to the marrow in your bones by just catching sight of Loki in that moment was utterly lost, the recording failing to evoke that fear that stopped movement and despair for knowing no where in all the universe would be safe from that vengeful wrath.

Clint was accustomed to fighting Loki, but he never saw anything like that before. The Chituari attack, which until then was Clint's memory of Loki at his worst, faded into a caricature at that terrible expression - the snarl of a demon compared to a madman's tirade. All the passionate fury Thor ever displayed compressed into one look couldn't compete with the pure outrage of Loki. Sometimes it was hard to remember how alien Thor and Loki were, how old they were, and how very _powerful_ they were.

"Well? Anybody got some answers for the lady?" asked Fury, looming over the Avengers. They were all seated at a table in a private room on the Helicarrier, facing the TV screen. Clint restrained himself from looking around - the others would all be staring at him, knowing he was the only one who had even the slightest chance of being able to answer Fury.

"Play the rest," he said quietly.

Fury gave him an expectant look and pressed on the remote again. The woman resumed talking, the two screens behind her played through several of the previous encounters with Loki - or what was on film of those encounters. There was a nice shot of that school bus illusion and Thor flying through it, though Loki was barely visible. The best footage (before the fight with the flaming aliens) was of Loki in Germany, though cell phone cameras kept things shaky and grainy.

"These aliens, who many witnesses compared to the Flying Torch, spread out through New York City. Most were centered around the Avengers Tower, formerly known as Stark Tower, and caused massive damage to the surrounding area and a total of fifty casualties are reported, though many more are wounded and some are still missing. Tony Stark has generously given the bottom floors of his tower to relief efforts."

The screens behind her alternated between footage of the aliens, which was worse than that of Loki and turned the tailed creatures into nothing but blurs of fire, and the Avengers Tower. The surrounding buildings did take a lot of damage, as did the tower itself, but Stark's Arc Reactor technology kept the tower running and the building itself was stable. Unlike the Chitauri attack, most of the damage was fire-related.

"The other attacks through the city are seemingly random. A large percentage of banks and museums have experiences robberies, though the City Police state they suspect this is the work of looters taking advantage of the attack rather than the aliens. Most attacks were in largely populated areas, and casualties are speculated to be anywhere from a thousand to five thousand."

Fury paused the video. Rogers was staring off into space, his expression carefully kept blank, but the anguish he felt was still obvious. It was a rough battle for all of them, and they were all taking it hard, but Fury was focused on Rogers. Clint thought that was wise; Rogers was the youngest, after all, and to him it was only three years since he was fighting in World War II.

"You okay, Captain Rogers?" asked Fury. His voice was that of a superior officer, but he had none of the bark.

"Yeah... _Yes_, sir," replied Rogers.

"Good," Fury said, looking around the table. "We'll continue."

It was a habit of Clint's to constantly assess his surroundings, so he knew exactly what Fury saw when he looked over the group.

Tasha and Banner were as far away from everyone else as they possibly could be, each dealing with it on their own. They both had a high body count (though Clint doubted even they knew the exact number) and were used to facing that without the support of another, so even though they were surrounded by their teammates, they continued to face each disaster as if they were alone once again. There was some measure of relief on Banner's face - Clint supposed knowing for once that you weren't the cause of the casualties, instead the opposite, must be a good feeling. Thor was wrapped up in his own thoughts, but his body language was more open that Tasha's. Something about his distant sorrow reminded Clint once again that Thor was so very, very old.

Stark, who was used to casualties ten times the projected number credited to his name, placed a hand on Roger's shoulder. It was plain to see that he alone felt the most guilty, for whatever reason, but he was also the only one going out of his way to offer comfort to another. It was easy to imagine Stark was only discomfited by Roger's reaction, but that would be foolish - no matter how the media portrayed him, or how Stark portrayed himself, he was as selfless as he was self-centered.

Clint remained aloof and observed. He was used to controlling his feelings and remaining collected in front of Fury, regardless of the situation. Tasha was better at it than he was, with Clint's hot-headed nature another obstacle, but in this instance it seemed his encounter with Loki drained him of any temper. Clint was the most relaxed while he was out there fighting, the adrenaline lowering his inhibitions, but the battle today only left him confused.

"The attack where the supervillain, Loki, entered the scene was on a small neighborhood on the outskirts of the city. Two schools filled with children were in session when a group the aliens arrived. From the Avengers to the National Guard, every man was occupied in another part of the city. The aliens first destroyed local shops and were on the street near the school when the schools received the evacuation warning."

Behind the lady, the two screens showed the neighborhood and schools before the attack, names briefly flashing, and then switched to footage taken during the attack. A street lined with small shops and businesses on fire with smoke rising like a cloud, and the mountain of flame that was the Preschool. Clint spotted himself on the roof of the other school, a small figure aiming a bow at fiery blurs.

"The efforts of local law enforcement and the Avenger "Hawkeye" were brave, but ultimately futile. The Preschool caught on fire mid-evacuation and it looked like New York would face another tragedy. To everyone's surprise, the supervillain "Loki" arrived and began to fight alongside Hawkeye. At his suggestion, law enforcement officers obtained a firehose and aimed it at the attacking hoard, which proved to be more effective than any other attempt to stop these aliens. Loki then turned his attention to the Preschool and ran inside. Witnesses say he began to evacuate children. Not far behind him, Hawkeye also assisted, and when the school was clear, Loki left the children with Hawkeye and returned to the fight. The aliens numbers were cut in half by fighting them with water, and Loki went on to bring that number to zero."

The attention was focused back on Clint. He didn't turn, feeling the eyes on him, but kept his attention on the screen.

"We here at home can only wonder at Loki's motivations," said the woman. "No comment from either Loki or Hawkeye has been obtained, and no other information has come to light. All we know is that the man held responsible for the Invasion of 2012 became a _hero_ to many families living in that neighborhood today."

"A hero," scoffed Fury, as the recording ended with the woman smiling and the screens behind her showing two different recordings of Loki's fight with the flaming aliens. "Loki tried to bring down this city, this _planet_ two years ago! Has anything changed since then?" He began to pace, his coat flying out behind him. "A hero. _Huh_. You got anything to say, Barton?"

Clint closed his eyes and thought back to the moment where his hatred suddenly lessened in the face of actual flame paling in comparison to Loki's ire. Face to face, Clint felt as if his hate were as insignificant as a pebble to the moon.

"I was on the roof of the school. There were more aliens there than we could handle, but I was doing my best to pick off the ones closest to the school. They broke through and evacuation halted. I don't know _when_ he arrived. The officers had a hose when I caught sight of him - any alien the water touched immediately fell. He tore the door off the school and ran inside, and I followed, but I lost him in the halls. They were filled with smoke. I saw there were kids and I decided to get them out..." he said nothing about how the temptation to follow and get his revenge on Loki was nearly _too_ strong in those moments.

"A few officers followed me, and we emptied a classroom. There was another at the end of the hall. Part of the roof fell in and two officers were crushed. I yelled for the other to get out and made the kids follow me as we looked for another way out. There were only a few kids... I guess they were half-way through evacuation. I got them out and their teacher was there, screaming about a missing kid, and I was on my way back to look for Loki anyway. I found the kid seconds before I found Loki. There were aliens inside, I guess on the upper floors, and he had them trapped in ice... he looked about ready to freeze the entire school, actually. He saw me and... it was frightening. He looked insane, so _angry_... I thought he was going to kill me for a second, but I don't think he recognized me... but then he saw the kid, looked at me again, and he grabbed me and the kid and teleported us all onto the roof of the other school."

Clint laughed and said, "The kid was fine, asked me for my autograph, told me to say 'hi' to Black Widow for him. I'm pretty sure he swiped one of my arrows too. Loki brought down all the other aliens after that. I got swarmed by the other kids and a few parents when I tried to take the kid over to the others. Loki disappeared, I'm not sure when. Before Stark arrived."

"A regular happy-ever-after," Fury growled.

"Yes, sir," replied Clint.

"And you don't have any idea why Loki would suddenly decide to play hero?" asked Fury, his level of sarcasm reaching Stark proportions.

"If I may," said Thor, "these 'aliens' are called 'Muspellfolket', from Muspellheim. They are the descendants of their ruler, Surtur. They are fearsome warriors, impervious to flame and heat, who light one another on fire before battle to inspire terror in their enemies. From their actions today, they have set their sights on Midgard, or something in this realm. You must not take them lightly. Surtur is older than all of Asgard, and he is not foolish, nor is he weak. Should he come here in person..."

"Should he come here in person, we'll be unloading all of Stark technology's finest on him," said Stark. He sounded cocky but looked as if he wanted nothing more than to go home. "The real problem is my tower," he continued. "They were coming for _us_, and we're in the middle of a city. All of this could have been prevented if I hadn't-"

"_Tony_," Banner said quietly, cutting off one of Stark's guilty rants. The two looked at each other, trading thoughts and messages without a single word, and Tony gave in under Banner's stare.

"Thor, do you have any insight on why your brother's been acting strange these past weeks?" asked Fury.

Thor raised his head from his almost-brooding position. "I... I do not know my brother as well as I once professed," he confessed ashamedly.

"Has _anyone_ got any information for me?" demanded Fury, ignoring Thor.

No one else looked like they were going to approach the Asgardian. Clint reached behind and laid his hand on Thor's shoulder, leaving enough weight and grip to express his support. Thor looked up and smiled (when had that become such a rare sight?) and the gratitude in his eyes nearly chased away the worry. Normally, when Thor started thinking and worrying over Loki, Clint couldn't be near him without getting angry. After seeing Loki's burning wrath, and somehow walking away from it, all his anger and hatred were petty. Later, he would sort out just when he started comparing his conviction to a villain and finding them lacking.

"I'm sorry, sir," Clint said.

Fury left, mumbling under his breath. "Damn this all. Got a young-ass SpiderKid to deal with, bunch of rogue-ass mutants, a stupid-ass council... and _now_ a stubborn-ass Avenger team and a magic-ass villain pretending he's a hero. Damn this job to _Hell_. Gonna retire next year." Clint doubted it, but he made a note to see if Hill couldn't find a way to get the Director some vacation time.

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A/N: Clint is pretty good with emotions here. As someone used to observing from afar and also partner to the Black Widow, I think he would be. But I'm not good with characterizing Clint so yeah this chapter was a little intimidating. Loki is also very fiercely protective and scary and I have no idea how all those descriptions happened. I don't even write poetry or anything.

In other news I figured out why one reviewer said this fic has a sort of British feel. I absorb most of my spelling skills from reading, and I read a lot of older books and classics, and I recently noticed the spellcheck I've started to use is marking words I know to be correctly spelled as incorrect. The problem was that I was spelling words like they do pretty much everywhere else English is spoken except America. It makes sense I've absorbed other things, such as style and vocabulary, from reading. You should all really watch out - I'm currently making my way through Les Misérables by Victor Hugo. One day you may see an update only to read a very long chapter on the details of the New York sewers and then all your favorite characters die.

_**Want to leave a request?** Guidelines are the same as ever. **If you've made a request**, remember that I am posting in chronological order rather than skipping all over the place and thank you so, so much for your patience._

I'm so thankful to have such lovely readers! Each follow, favorite, review, and PM alert puts a smile on my face and cheers me up when I'm having a bad day. :D

**Mythology Index (except it's not really an index) is back!**

Muspellheim - Opposite Niflheim, this is a realm of fire. Fire Giants live there. (Marvel calls them Demons, I believe...) Niflheim is actually the icy realm rather than Jotunheim, but I guess Marvel wanted otherwise.

Muspellfolket - Fire Giants, basically. I completely made up the lighting-themselves-on-fire-to-scare-enemies thing, and it was inspired by Blackbeard. As far as I know, there is nothing about the Fire Giants doing that in either Mythology or Marvel Comics.

Surtur - King of the Fire Giants. I didn't make up the part about him being really old either, he's seriously really, really old. As for Ragnarok, he will lead the Fire Giants into battle. He fights against Frey (who I can't really explain without a paragraph no one wants to read) and has this really cool sword that basically sets the world on fire. Yeah, everybody and their uncle has better weapons than Thor.

_Next chapter: Christmas and back to Loki POV and no more Avengers/Loki's kids interaction for a long time._


	9. Chapter 9

_A/N: Alright so I'm not satisfied with this chapter, especially the end, but it's been to long without an update. (Me: Great! I'll finally be able to update soon. Schedule: Well aren't you just adorable? Keep on dreamin', dearie.) Enjoy your just-in-time-for-Easter Christmas Special!_

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Loki woke that morning to Fenn clambering on top of him and settling on his chest. He frowned up at Fenn, ignoring wide eyes and grin, and pushed himself up. Fenn tumbled down into his lap.

"Why did you wake me up?" asked Loki. He thought back to the events of three days ago, to the attack and the fires. "Did you have a nightmare?"

Fenn shook his head, still grinning, and the words he obviously restrained from saying before came out in an enthusiastic rush. "It's Christmas!"

Fears settled, Loki yawned and wiped his sleeve across his face. He was exhausted, the weight of days of no sleep settling onto his back and shoulders. What time was it? The clock said four, but Fenn had no business being awake that early, even if it was for this _Christmas_.

"Are Hela and Manny awake?" he asked.

"No, still sleeping," replied Fenn. "Can I go wake them?"

"No," said Loki. "No. Come here." He patted the bed, opening up the covers. Silly things, really, Jotun had no use for them... so the covers did nothing but give a little reminder of home. "Wait just a little longer."

Fenn bit his lip but complied. He crawled over to Loki's side and curled up against him, head on his shoulder, using Loki as a pillow when there were two perfectly unused ones resting right below the headboard. Instead of giving voice to those complaints, Loki adjusted his shoulder so the weight of Fenn's head would be easier to bear.

"Not sleeping, though, right?"

"No, we're just waiting for your brother and sister," said Loki, closing his eyes. He was beyond tired after the past few days.

The battle with the Muspelfolket drained his magic to the point where another teleportation spell would make him collapse. Uncontrolled, emotional magic came more naturally to the caster but was more taxing, and Loki was anything but controlled when he learned the Muspelfolket attacked the schools where his children were. He was lucky Manny and Hela's school was completely evacuated, or else he probably would have exhausted all his magic attempting to find all his children. The spells he had on them to preserve their Aesir forms did serve as beacons with his magic sensing his own handiwork, but if he found himself torn between the two schools he had no idea what he would do.

Even as he lay, trying to sleep, with his son curled up at his side, he felt the flicker of his spell reaching out and recognizing the magic from which it was born. It was a tie to his children Loki would loathe to part with. It helped to be able to sense Fenn in yet another way, to know that he was safe by his side. The glow of Hela and Manny was bright, still, and steady from across the hall. He always took comfort in being able to know where his children were, but recently he found it brought him much-needed peace.

He didn't understand how something that terrified him so badly could leave no impression on Fenn, but he was thankful for it. Loki would not wish him to share the nightmares or the paranoid need to watch over his family or the heartache every time he was reminded me of how close it all came to ashes. Years ago, many years ago, Loki lost his children and he mourned. He thought that if he were to lose any of them now the Aesir would speak of Ragnarok with longing.

Sleep found him and this time when he woke he was not so bleary-eyed and confused that he forgot about the holiday. Fenn was still asleep, curled up at his side, and Hela was tugging on his arm.

"Dad, it's Christmas and I'm _hungry_," she said. "You slept in," she accused.

"I did," conceded Loki. He gently pulled his arm away from her grip, sparing a second to smile at her warning glare.

He tried carefully sliding his shoulder out from underneath Fenn, but a spasm of pain ran through him and though he remained silent his shoulder violently jerked as the muscles protested the sudden movement. Fenn's eyes flew open as his head fell on the pillows.

"Are we waking up now?" he asked.

"Yes," chuckled Loki. His shoulder still ached, as could be expected from forcing it into an uncomfortable position and weighing it down for a few hours, but he could already feel the pain begin to fade. "Where's Manny?" he asked Hela.

In answer, the sound of something shattering in the kitchen drew their attention. Loki clutched his shoulder and ran in. In the two seconds it took him to enter the kitchen, he managed to panic over anything from an intruder to Manny dropping a glass and cutting his finger to Thor somehow discovering him and bursting through the window.

When he reached the kitchen, he found his second worry to be the likely cause of the sound. Manny, dressed in his favorite dinosaur pajamas, was kneeling in front of several brightly colored shards. Loki carefully checked the kitchen for any intruders he might have missed or Thor lurking about the pantry and relaxed when he realized it was just a broken dish.

"Manny!" cried Hela, running over before he could stop her.

"Careful of the broken china!" he ordered even as he followed.

"Did you break it?" she asked, standing where Loki's hand stopped her.

Manny turned to look at her and Loki realized there were tears filling his son's eyes. "I didn't mean to," whimpered Manny. A tear slowly fell down his face.

"You didn't cut yourself, did you?" asked Loki, kneeling and wiping away the tear as he carefully looked Manny over for any injuries.

Manny shook his head, but before he could add a vocal denial Fenn burst into tears. Loki turned to see Fenn standing in the doorway, wailing.

"Fenn? Are you alright?" he couldn't help his glance over to Hela to make sure she wasn't about to join her brothers. Thankfully she was dry-eyed, though visibly upset.

"It's broken!" sobbed Fenn.

"I'm sorry!" Manny sniffed, running over to Fenn and pulling him into a hug. Loki belatedly reached out to stop Manny from leaping over the pile of broken pottery. "I know you worked hard on it, Fenn, I'm so sorry!"

The fact that his children were in tears over a broken dish, yet hadn't even complained over the fires and attacks at the school, was a puzzle to Loki. He cast another look at the broken pieces, only to see Hela leaning over them and studying them carefully.

"We can glue them," she announced, more subdued than normal. There was no triumph in her solution to a problem that plagued both her brothers as there normally would be.

"It won't be the same," Fenn said quietly. His face was still wet with tears but he was no longer crying. Manny's shoulders still shook, but they slowed at Hela's words. Neither one let go of the other or moved from the doorway, looking sorrowfully at the pile of shards that Hela was examining.

"They aren't too big; it won't look that bad. We just need to call Shannon for some superglue," said Hela.

Loki swept a hand over his hair, pushing it out of his face and back over his head, and asked, "What is this broken dish that has you all so upset?" He didn't recognize the bright green, red, and yellow colors, and Manny said that Fenn worked hard on it.

"It was your Christmas present," said Manny. "For tea. I made the cup, Hela carved the words and designs in it, and Fenn did the painting. Shannon helped, and she put on the gloss."

"She's the one who hid it up there, and Manny was the tallest so I asked him to get it, but I guess it was too high," said Hela, pointing at the top of the kitchen cupboards. Loki didn't doubt his daughter would be having words with the babysitter.

"You made me a Christmas present," he said.

"I'm sorry I broke it," said Manny, his lip beginning to tremble.

Fenn patted his arm reassuringly. "Not your fault, Manny. It was an accident."

Loki stared at the pieces of pottery on the floor. Now that he knew what it was, it was easier to get an idea of what it would have looked like whole. The clay was uneven and he noticed a few dried fingerprints on one shard that must have been from an unpainted area. The colors were very bright, similar to what he saw when one of the children would bring home a project from school. Hela's carving looked to be simple designs of zig-zags and dots with "best dad" etched onto the largest shard with the bright green handle still attached. He could even see how the mug would taper, and how the seemingly random colors would have been stripes. It wasn't perfect, it wasn't even particularly well-crafted, but it was the loveliest mug he had ever seen - even if it was no more than pieces lying on the kitchen floor.

"It's beautiful," said Loki. "Thank you. I'm..." he trailed off and cleared his throat, brushing at the tears that escaped his eyes. "Thank you."

"But it's broken," Fenn said, pointing to the shards.

Loki knelt and touched a finger to one of the shards (painted yellow) and smiled. "Yes it is," he said. He snapped his fingers and the pieces rose and reattached themselves to each other with a slight glow of his magic, the colors of the rainbow gilded with gold, and for a second the mug glowed with that magic and spun in the air, becoming a bright glow of red and green and yellow. When it finished spinning and hung there in the air, Loki carefully took it by the handle and let the magic fade. The glow died with the magic and he held a perfectly normal mug in his hand with the slightest lines running down the sides where the cup was once broken. Now, like each of his children, his part in the creation of their gift was clear.

"You fixed it," said Manny.

"With magic," Hela breathed, her eyes shining with interest. Loki couldn't help the smirk. His children were so like him, and one day he would be able to teach them.

"A Christmas miracle," he corrected. "Like the snowman and his hat."

"Frosty," supplied Fenn.

"The hat was magic," persisted Hela.

Well, Loki had all of Christmas break (and the added days as the schools finished repairs) to explain magic. He laughed and smoothed back Hela's wild hair.

"Exactly. Now, breakfast or presents first?"

The question was the perfect distraction. All three froze and Loki took the time to make his way to the fridge. Most of the contents were future ingredients for Christmas Dinner, something Santiago assured him was a staple of Christmas celebration. The information was useful, but came at the price of Santiago alternating between teasing and pitying him for letting it slip that his family never celebrated Christmas. How they would do so when they never heard of it, he had no idea.

Loki was uncertain if Christmas breakfast was in fact Christmas Breakfast and he would have to prepare something out of the ordinary, but he reasoned that as a newcomer to the holiday he could be given a little slack and miss a tradition here and there. The normal breakfast it would be - grilled fish for Manny with a side of the horrid grapefruit his son actually enjoyed, eggs and toast for Hela and himself, and eggs and ham colored with green food coloring (or magic, when he ran out) for Fenn. The grapefruit and green food were all the fault of Shannon, of course. She was able to convince Manny to try foods he normally wouldn't touch, and when her father bought too many grapefruits apparently giving them to his children was the solution, though only Manny actually liked the disgusting fruits. A strange book by a "Doctor Suess" was the source of Fenn's need to eat a green breakfast every morning. (Loki made sure no books by the Doctor were on the library's story hour reading list after learning just where Fenn's strange fancy originated.)

He was pleased to see that when his children noticed he started preparations for breakfast they began to assist. Manny grabbed the plates, Hela collected the glasses, and Fenn took the cutlery out of the drawer. The three of them set the table and then took a seat, their heads bent forward as they discussed something in low, soft voices. The whispers were childishly loud and yet the sound of oil popping in the skillet overpowered them. It must have been the morning's events that they were discussing so secretively, or Loki knew they wouldn't have bothered being so quiet. Well, he amended, that was what he thought. Though Hela was gesturing animatedly, it was not the wild flailing he thought the mention of magic would produce. They could very well be trading theories on what sort of presents lay under the Christmas Tree.

The shirts he coerced Banner, Stark, and Barton to sign were not among the pile of presents. Unable to resist the thought of their delight, he was only able to wait two days before he presented the autographed shirts to his children. Thankfully, he was able to resist any impulse to prematurely gift the other signed merchandise. Those were wrapped up and laying under the Christmas Tree, along with a DSi for each child and three games each, a different book for each child, and a DVD for each one. Of course, there was also stockings - though these _stockings_ were ludicrous items that were garishly colored, uncomfortably itchy, and tailored for someone with feet resembling those of a cartoon character - filled with smaller gifts. Small toys, sticker packs, and candy. Though after listening to one of Amy's recollections of her childhood Christmases, the toe of each stocking was stuffed with an orange.

Horatio also shared stories of Christmas (as nearly everyone did, Loki found, this time of year) and how he would go out with his father every year to find the perfect tree and how his father taught him how to use an axe to cut it down. Unfortunately, Loki only learned of this when Horatio revealed it would be too late to try and find any decent trees. Luckily, the bank he robbed that weekend had a decently sized tree right in front of the doors and so Loki added the Evergreen to his bags of stolen money. Feeling triumphant, he set it up in the living room and was unpacking the boxes of lights (which, unlike the tasteless tinsel and numerous ostentatious ornaments, were definitely his favorite decorations) when Hela returned home from school talking about some unfortunate tree. Manny tried to comfort her by reminding her of the kind actions of Charlie Brown, presumably their classmate, and somehow Loki managed to gather that his children _truly_ desired a small and scrawny tree bearing more resemblance to a branch. He was puzzled, but managed to find just such a tree, already decorated, at the local florists. It was small enough that he set it on the table to serve as a centerpiece.

That same tree sat in front of him as he sat down with his breakfast, blocking Fenn's plate of dyed-green food. It was decorated with a lone ornament that weighed on the branches and loomed threateningly over his plate, despite Loki's spells to hold the glass ball onto the Evergreen. As soon as Santiago told him it was acceptable to take down the decorations, Loki would be rid of the tree/centerpiece. Until then it better not suddenly break his spells and suddenly drop the ornament into the mashed potatoes at dinner or they would have a Yule Log after all.

Fenn and Hela made quick work of their food, and Manny must have ate at twice his normal pace. Loki rolled his eyes at them and shoveled the remainder of his eggs into his mouth. "I take it you are all very impatient," he said, grabbing his new mug. He'd only managed to drink about a quarter of the tea inside.

"Excited," corrected Hela.

"My apologies," Loki said. "I'm done, run along... just don't trip." The dirty dishes could wait if his children were so excited. He followed them out to the living room, swallowing another mouthful of tea. "Fenn, your presents are closest to me. Manny, yours is by the window. Hela's is in the middle."

No sooner were they directed to their presents than wrapping paper began flying around the room. Loki smiled and took a seat on the couch to watch. He could see why Midgardians were so fond of this Holiday and its confusing traditions, and why so very many books were written and movies made about it. Hearing squeals of delight as his children discovered the gifts that lay concealed under the brightly colored paper and then trying to hold all of them at once when they hugged him was something he couldn't believe he would get to experience again next year.

"Ha! Hulk is bigger than your puny pillows," said Hela, clutching a Hulk-shaped pillow. (Or was it a plushie? Loki had no idea and neither did the store employees he asked.) It was true, the Iron Man and Hawkeye pillows Manny and Fenn held were each a good head shorter and not nearly as wide or broad-shouldered as the Hulk pillow. In her tiny arms, the Hulk pillow seemed almost comically huge. It must have been half her size. Loki knew that even with the DVD of _Tangled_ and her new DSi, the Hulk pillow was her favorite present.

Manny was cuddled up to his side, Iron Man pillow hugged tightly with one arm, flipping through his book - an illustrated, abridged Robinson Crusoe that was still large enough to last a week's bedtime stories. "Hela, Hulk _is_ bigger than Iron Man and Hawkeye," he said, not bothering to look up from a picture of Crusoe having a panic attack over a single footprint.

"Can we watch my movie?" Fenn asked. He held up _How to Train Your Dragon_ and widened his eyes in a passable imitation of a begging dog. (Santiago called it "The Puppy Face" and Loki thought it was a more than fitting name.)

"You three can watch the movie, and I'll make Christmas Dinner," said Loki. "After you clean up the wrapping paper, that is."

When he finally began to work in the kitchen he quickly realized he should have started earlier. There was so much to be done! The turkey really should sit in the brine for another hour but he had to put in the oven first so that it was preheated for the sweet potatoes and should he mix the stuffing first or make the cranberry sauce so that it had time to cool? He barely recognized the way he slipped into thinking like a Midgardian and sat down in shock. Was he not Loki, of Asgard but no longer Asgard's, the finest sorcerer this side of the Nine Realms? He could snap his finger and the turkey would roast itself to perfection, the mashed potatoes whip themselves into soft peaks, and the vegetables seasons themselves to perfection.

He still spent an hour and half in the kitchen, but in that time he not only managed to finish Dinner but to mix up a bowl of cookie dough. He stuck in the fridge to chill and walked out to see how the movie was going. The credits were just starting when he walked in the living room, and he was pleased to see that no one had moved off the couch.

"How was the movie?" he asked.

"Great," said Fenn. "I want a dragon."

"Maybe next year," Loki replied.

Hela looked a bit put out and announced her desire for a functioning lightsaber. "A pink one. Not a red one, Dad, a _pink_ one."

"If I ever come across a lightsaber, I'll make sure it's pink before I buy it," Loki assured her with a teasing smile. "Now, who wants to help me make gingerbread men?"

"Me!" cried Fenn, jumping to his feet. Loki laughed and picked him up, resting him on one hip and supporting his bottom with one arm. Hela and Manny followed behind him, their faces lit up at the mention of gingerbread men. Ever since Shannon brought them a plate of assorted cookies from her father's bakery, they decided cookies were their favorite dessert. Loki was just happy Manny would eat the gingerbread men without having to put pieces of fish on top.

"Go wash your hands while I roll out the dough," he ordered, surreptitiously casting a spell to stop the dough from sticking to his hands. He grabbed the bowl of dough out of the fridge and plopped it on the similarly spelled counter. Manny appeared at his side, fingers dripping water on the floor, a hesitant smile answering Loki's questioning look.

"Can I help roll the dough?" he asked.

"Of course," said Loki, after a moment's pause. To stop Hela and Fenn from voicing the same desire, he told them, "Find the cookie cutters, please. You can choose one other shape."

They headed immediately for the glass jar filled with cookie cutters (Shannon's gift to them) and started debating over whether they wanted the Christmas Tree cookie cutter or the dinosaur cookie cutter. Loki handed Manny the rolling pin and adjusted his son's grip. "You have to hold it tight so you can put pressure on it. Not too tight, Manny. Now just push in this direction." He held onto the ends of the rolling pin, his hand overlapping Manny's, and pushed in a forward direction. The rolling pin pressed down smoothly over the dough, leaving a path of flattened cookie dough in its wake. "Good. Now see how the dough bunches up where the rolling pin doesn't reach? You've got to get over there, too. Same direction." He let go of the pin and let Manny do his best. Though not as even as when Loki was helping, the dough was now flat on one side. Manny looked up at Loki with a brilliant smile.

A rush of warmth overcame Loki and he reached out to stoke Manny's hair. It was a few months since he first found his children (collapsed on the floor, unconscious, and he recognized them right away and felt his heart jump and frantically pulse as the thought that _they might be dead_ ran through his mind) and though he latched on to the idea of getting parenthood right this time, he knew it wasn't all perfect like how he wanted it to be. The last time he had someone to call a family... well, he thought he had a little more control this time. But there were memories of a now-dead grandson he never met and a fierce guardian of oceans forbidden to him and the cold and mournful rooms of Elidnir. No matter that his children were so young and so different from the adults they grew up to be, he couldn't banish the grudges and resentment and bitterness completely. He never held it against them, not even before he received this precious second chance. Their anger was not directed at him but at his absence.

Touch, so carefree and full of love, was something strange to Loki. Before this second chance, he thought back to Frigga's embrace, interrupted and abandoned for Thor. Now he had a hand constantly reaching out for his own, or a warm body snuggled up to his side, or arms wrapped around him (or his nearest limb) in a hug. He reciprocated, but this... this was different. It was automatic, emotion-based, and natural. Like a slap on the back shared between brothers before politics and differences and secrets split them apart, it was something out of his past so far away he'd nearly forgotten how much he could communicate with just a single touch. Love, pride, that sense of family no emotion could define.

Perhaps once, years and years and years ago, he had reached out to hug his children and smooth back their hair, but he couldn't remember.

Manny leaned into his touch and Loki marveled at this gift of opportunity.

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A/N: When I first started posting I wasn't expecting to get many reviews, maybe one or two a chapter. To average over five an update (and not to mention all you lovely people following this fic or adding it to your favorites) is amazing to me, especially since most of them are recurring reviews. (THANK YOU THANK YOU I LOVE YOU ALL) To think that anyone would enjoy reading so much! _To anyone reading wondering if they should review_, please, please do. It helps motivate me to write when I know someone out there takes an interest in what I'm posting. While I welcome all reviewers, anonymous and signed, if you could make sure to sign in before you review I'd appreciate it. I reply to every review I can, and obviously I can't with anonymous reviewers.

**I think it's time I posted a better guideline, so this is just a few things I would like you to read before you leave a request.**

**1.** I accept anonymous requests as well as those from members (and you can always PM me with a request, too) but I ask that anonymous requests are either clearly worded or very flexible, as I can't PM an anon and ask them about the details. If you have something specific in mind, it's better to make sure I can PM you. Sometimes a request interferes with the plot I have outlined, but with the requester's permission I can slightly adjust it to fit.

**2.** Right now, there are no limits on requests you can make. Everyone's been really good about that, not spamming me with requests, and I trust you will all continue to do the same. I'm comfortable with the amount I have right now and I see no need to try and limit how many requests a person can make. If I do, well, the limit will eventually be lifted. On my very skeletal outline I sort of have "areas" that allow for requests, and we're starting to near the end of the first area. There are two more areas in the outline where I will either need requests or my own inspiration. If it comes to a point where I have to limit requests, once we come to a new area, I will lift the limit.

**3.** Posting chronologically makes for less confusion but also means that your request could take a long time to see the light. Have patience, as long as I am able I will continue to write and post your requests. :)

**4.** I don't really care what you request, but there are a few things I'll say no to. I've said before that I won't write anything above a T (mostly I won't write smut but I think too much violence and gore would be out of place in this fic, as well as too much language) so you know there's that, and that I'm trying to stick to canon pairings, but that's only for the sake of simplicity. There's a little too much Loki POV, because this fic's Loki is such a diva and never lets me write anyone else unless it would be physically impossible to narrate the chapter's events, so go on and send me your requests for other POVs! You can request pretty much everything, and I'll do my best to make sure it gets written. My plot and outline are flexible, my worldbuilding kept to a minimum, and I'm not afraid of a little research. Don't be afraid to request whatever you want!.

**Mythology Index:**

The dead grandson, forbidden oceans, and Elidnir - numbered for organization's sake.

1) Fenrir has kids. I would resent him for how many, but this only makes the research I'll have to do on him for my inevitable Vali-Fenrir wolf bros forming their own pack fic that much easier. Ignoring Marvel and their many obscure and ungoogleable characters, Hati and Skoll are Fenrir's wolf children in Norse Mythology. I can't find mention of any other of Fenrir's kids in my research, but there is mention of a wolf named Moon-Garm or something of the sort who is either Hati or Skoll or his own wolf that is also Fenrir's son. He has only one son in this fic, as far as Loki knows, anyway. Who knows if I'll ever return to this? (Who am I kidding, there's WOLVES, of course I'm going to revisit this!)

2) I made up the forbidden oceans part and didn't bother to follow it up with research, but from what I gather Jormangund (Or Midgard Serpent) and Loki aren't on the best of terms in Marvel canon and I suspect that in the Mythology Jormangund likes Loki just enough to help him with Ragnarok.

3) Elidnir is the name for Hela's Hall, which is basically where she lives in Norse Mythology. It's located in Helheim, which is in Niflheim. I don't remember if there was a Marvel counterpart.

_Next: Christmas with the Avengers!_


	10. Chapter 10 preview and note

There are a lot of things I want to say but I'll just leave it at two:

1. I'm so sorry for the lack of replies and updates. I injured my hand and so typing has been torturous. I'm focusing my efforts on actually writing the next chapter, but hopefully I'll be able to send out replies soon.

2. I don't want to leave all my wonderful readers with nothing, so I'm posting a preview of the next chapter. When I finish it I'll just replace this note and the preview with the actual chapter.

* * *

He gave the room a final survey before heading to bed. It was perfectly decorated, thanks to Pepper and Steve, with red and green and gold everywhere there was room to hang or hold decorations. The tree would've been perfectly matched too, if not for Darcy insisting on hanging a bunch of Avengers themed ornaments and topping it with a light-up star Jane had on every tree since she was a little girl. To appease Thor, anything that could feasibly have lights wound around it hosted blinking white lights (Tony vaguely remembered his mother calling them fairy lights) that so fascinated Thor. For Tony's part, he'd found the largest singing Santa he could and practically thrown tinsel at the bar. It wasn't really _perfectly_ decorated after all - more mixy-matchy, with only the parts Pepper and Steve worked on looking very nice, and there were black streaks of oil on the presents Tony only recently added to the pile, and Darcy's wrapping paper of choice was apparently newspaper comics - but it definitely had spirit. Maybe that would somehow transfer to everyone overnight.

He did _not_ dream about the Grinch wearing a black leather trenchcoat and an eyepatch stealing his singing Santa, thank you very much.


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